A two-time first-team all-conference selection, Carnae Dillard will lead the Mean Green into a promising 2014 season.

July 31, 2014

DENTON - North Texas volleyball standouts Carnae Dillard and Amy Henard were named to the Conference USA Preseason team, and the Mean Green was tabbed to finish fourth in 2014 the league announced on Thursday.

"We're excited for the season to start," said North Texas head coach Andrew Palileo. "Carnae and Amy had a good year last year and being selected on the preseason all-conference list reflects their body of work from last season. We will be counting on both of them to lead and develop a young but talented group of freshman. The preseason polls are always fun to see, but at the end of the day our focus as a staff is to get our players to believe in the process for being a great team."

A first-team all-conference selection in each of her first two seasons, Dillard already ranks fifth in North Texas history with 1,025 career kills. In 2013, Dillard led the Mean Green with 473 kills, and finished second with 21 service aces. Her 31 kills against Marshall set a new career high.

Already feared league-wide for her offensive prowess, Dillard improved drastically on the defensive end of the floor as a sophomore. She posted a pair of 26-dig performances and raised her digs per game from 2.19 to 3.28 per set.

Henard, the Mean Green setter, already ranks ninth in NT history with 1,192 career assists despite playing just her freshman season. She earned C-USA All-Freshman team honors after dishing out 10.55 assists per set, with a career-high of 68 assists against Idaho. Henard crossed the 50-assist plateau on six occasions in 2013 after stating every set of every match for the Mean Green.

The Weatherford, Texas, native was named the C-USA Setter of the Week on Sept. 23 after racking up 110 total against LSU, Houston and Baylor in one weekend.

This marks the second straight season in which North Texas was picked fourth by the league's coaches. Palileo guided the Mean Green to a 17-15 record in the program's first year in C-USA last season, including a win in the C-USA Tournament in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

The Mean Green will kick off the 2014 campaign at home with the North Texas Invitational on Aug. 29-30 at the Mean Green Volleyball Center. NT get things started with Northwestern State on Aug. 29 at 7 p.m.